Ocean City is in the loudest week of its year — white marlin season is at full boil, the canyon fleet is running hard, and the inshore fishery is holding up well alongside it. Ocean temperatures are in the mid-70s along the beach with warmer water offshore, and the back bays are running warm enough to push the flounder toward moving water and structure.
What’s Hitting
Flounder are the bread-and-butter fishery, holding in the inlet, along the Route 50 bridge, in the East Channel, and around the Thorofare. Keeper ratios have been reasonable for anglers working structure and current rather than open mud. Offshore, the canyons are producing yellowfin, bigeye, and a strong white marlin bite, with mahi on the pots and lobster gear along the way. Sea bass and flounder are stacked on the inshore wrecks and reef sites in 60 to 100 feet. In the surf, kingfish, croaker, and small bluefish are steady, with occasional Spanish mackerel and a few cobia showing for shore anglers. Striped bass are around but the summer season rules apply.
Where to Find Them
Work the inlet, the Route 50 bridge pilings, and the channel edges in the back bays for flounder on the moving tide. The Thorofare and the East Channel drop-offs have been consistent. Offshore, the Baltimore, Poor Man’s, and Washington canyons have all been productive for tuna and billfish. The inshore reef sites and the Great Eastern Reef are holding sea bass and flounder. Surf anglers should look for cuts and sloughs between bars, especially on the Assateague beaches.
Tides & Conditions
Ocean temperatures are 74 to 78 along the beach and low 80s at the canyon edge. Back bay water is warmer. Tides run hard at the inlet — the flounder bite has been best on the last of the incoming and the first of the outgoing. Seas have been manageable for the offshore fleet with a workable weather window most of the week. Afternoon thunderstorms are possible but not a daily certainty the way they are farther south.
Tackle & Tactics
For flounder, a bucktail tipped with Gulp paired with a teaser above it remains the most efficient rig — drift with the current and keep contact with the bottom. Live minnows or a strip of squid on a standard flounder rig works well around the bridge. Offshore, trolling ballyhoo spreads is producing white marlin, while chunking and jigging are taking tuna. Sea bass on the wrecks want a high-low rig with squid or clam. Surf anglers should fish a two-hook bottom rig with bloodworm or Fishbites in the trough.
Local Intel This Week
The West Ocean City Harbor ramp and the Public Landing ramp are the practical launches, and traffic is heavy this time of year. Shore anglers are catching from the Route 50 bridge, the inlet jetty, and the Oceanic Pier. Fish are concentrating on structure and current seams in the bays rather than open flats. Striped bass, sea bass, and flounder all carry seasons and size limits that change through the year in Maryland waters — check current Maryland DNR and federal regulations and seasons before keeping any fish.
This Week’s Tip
Drifting for flounder, control your speed. If the wind and tide are pushing you faster than about a knot, deploy a drift sock. A bucktail that stays in contact with the bottom and hops naturally catches several times as many keepers as one that skips along above it, and speed control is the single easiest thing to fix.
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